Damselfly
by Dara999
Summary: A ship stuck in space with a crew that has no chance of survival, especially against those things. Jet black. Armoured. Fast. Corrosive. Silent. Death in tangible form. But the gentleman scientist needs to return to his laboratory to save his life's work, a way that doesn't involve his guts on the floor or bullets in his head.
1. Chapter 1: Damsel in Distress

It was a darn shame, the operation had been running smoothly until now. Maxwell rolled the cigar from the right corner of his mouth to the left. "Charlotte separate the shuttle from the ship please, if we don't detach now then they'll get in."

"Of course sir." The synthetic swiftly obeyed, her hands fluttering over the controls effortlessly. "What about the rest of the crew sir? Should I send out a distress signal for them?"

"No, we don't want to attract attention to this mess. I want the shuttle moved to observation distance, scan for any outgoing frequencies."

"Yes sir." Metallic clunks filled the void of sound, followed by the hum of jets activating, propelling them away from the carnage. Charlie watched as the ship grew smaller and smaller in the window. She wondered what would become of the others on board.

"Charlie what's the matter?"

"Nothing sir…"

"Charlotte my dear you might be highly advanced but I can see through your lies. Tell me what on your mind, all data from you is useful." Maxwell leant back in his armchair, watching the vastness of space consume the mess they were leaving behind. "Come talk to me." Charlie looked over at Maxwell, his demeanour seeming very relaxed.

"There's a lot of people on the Damselfly. Leaving them seems… cruel. It feels wrong."

"It's business Charlotte, you know this. This is why I don't let you mingle. That empathy you're feeling is useless in this corporate world." She looks back towards the window.

"Observational distance achieved, would you like me to conceal our vessel?"

"You read my mind dear."

xXxXx

He had finally reached the communications tower. Warm crimson coated his arms, the taste of iron filled his mouth. Limping he made his way to the external communications room, locking the door behind him. "S.O.S, this is the Damselfly we are in need of immediate assistance! We are in the Omega quadrant sector 23B-7Z. I repeat we need immediate assistance. This is Woodie Castor, a member of the security team. Please. Anyone respond!" Nothing but the sound of static responded. A low guttural growl came from above, looking up Woodie could see the saliva of one of those things dripping from the air vent. Woodie lifted the axe he had in hand and prepared to strike, he wasn't going down without a fight. He'd give it scars to remember him by. "I'm coming Lucy., I'll see you real soon baby."

"Um, sir there's a distress call coming from the Damselfly. What do you want me to do?" Maxwell sat up, losing the relaxed composure he just had.

"Active the jammer! Do not let that call be heard!"

"Y-yes sir!" Charlie jumped a little at the sudden change in attitude and pressed her fingers against the projected screen with haste. She still didn't feel good about what they were doing, but Maxwell had been very nice and insightful thus far. This was just part of the job; the contingency plan. "Jammers are functioning, it's highly unlikely for any ship to track the Damselfly's position now the transmission's been severed unless they were in the local zone."

"Keep alert. Nothing gets off that ship without our pursuit."

"Of course sir."

"Captain we're picking up a signal."

"What's it saying?"

"… It's an S.O.S." A grin spread across Willow's face, bingo. They had found the perfect recipe for stranded vessels. A few stray asteroids, electromagnetic interference and a smidge of isolation made for a gold mine; as long as you were willing to make a few threats.

"How close?"

"Not very far."

"I'll get onto tracking that for ya cap."

"Fantastic work the both of you. Is there anything else in the perimeter?"

"Not that I can see- oh. It's stopped."

"Stopped? Check again Wendy, try a different frequency."

"… Still nothing." Willow frowned, looking down at the screen in front of Wendy. Signals didn't often go dead so quickly.

"What do you think happened Walani?"

"There's an asteroid belt nearby, a few may have been flung out of orbit and struck their transmitter Cap."

"Do you think anyone else heard them?"

"Probably not, the signal was very short and would take time to trace from long distance, if possible at all. They're as good as dead out here."

"Full speed ahead it is! Let's go get us some goodies ladies."


	2. Chapter 2: Hunted

AN: Hey everyone. The last chapter was broken but is fixed now. This is a passion project for me and I'll probably come back to this often.

Please leave a review for me. ^^

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Everyone had been chaotically shuffled to the end of the ship that held the escape shuttles, who actually reached any of the shuttles was anyone's guess. Wilson had avoided the crowd, he needed to get back to the holding bay for Webber. "Status WX."

"I DETECT MINIMAL MOVEMENT IN THE CARGO BAY."

"Good. We better get moving then." Wilson probably tinkered too much for his own good, WX-78 had been an old model of android but nostalgia lead him to restore the bot. He had proved a useful assistant in the lab, however, his AI was less than perfect. He was very disinterested in other people and could easily seem rude, which really made him the perfect companion for the antisocial scientist.

These creatures were intelligent and could likely tell what hallways were used for what. Wilson wondered if they used pheromones like other invertebrates that formed colonies to perhaps they could distinguish the high traffic areas from the low ones. However they did it they had created a nest in the very centre of the hallway between the escape pods and where Wilson wanted to go. The nest must have been made within the hour, a thick, black, substance covered the hallways top to bottom; Wilson was lucky to escape with his life thanks to Wolfgang.

xXxXx

Wilson could feel his blood pumping in his ears, they had walked right into a trap, the xenomorphs had turned the central deck into some kind of nest. A thick, black silicon-like substance coated everything, creating what Wilson expected a bee hive to look like from the inside, except with a lot less honey and a lot more death. One had chased the group into this nest, a labyrinth of twists and turns. Hissing echoed from all directions. "We need to turn around, our chances are a lot better with one rather than a nest full of them!"

"That one already tore Kathrine and Damien apart! There's fucking way I'm going to go back to where it was!" Annoyance flickered through Wilson; he could stay behind and die then.

"Fine, stay and face ten of them as opposed to o-" A large black mass fell on top of the simpleton Wilson was just disputing with, a spray of crimson covering the ground. There it was, in all its perfection, a xenomorph. Behind glass was one thing, but face to face, human blood dripping from its silver teeth, it was downright terrifying.

The group scattered faster than Wilson could blink. A blur of black and a plethora of screams erupted. Wilson let out a cry and headed for the way they came in. That would be the path of least resistance, away from the thick of the nest. A handful of people were in Wilson's peripheral vision; medical and security staff. There were more ahead. Wilson froze. Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT! He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, up into his head, his ears. The xenomorph opened its jaws and snarled, saliva dripping onto the floor. Wilson could only hope it didn't chose him as its prey. A gunshot rang in Wilson's ears, the xenomorph staggering back, yellow oozing from its chest.

"Move now!" A large man rushed forward, Wilson knew him as Wolfgang, head of security. Working with dangerous and sensitive material, Wilson was well acquainted with this incredibly strong man, he and his men often patrolled the laboratories. Cocking the shotgun in hand Wolfgang ploughed forward, emptying the barrel on xenomorphs attempting to prevent their escape. He couldn't prevent some members being picked off however, only about half remained: Wilson, Wolfgang and another member of the security team. "We must go to escape pods now."

"I-I need to go back to the labs."

"Eh?! The labs, are you insane?! I think we should head for the coms tower, call for help and hole up in there until it arrives!"

"Woodie right, lab not safe. Talking tower has strong lockdown." Wolfgang spoke broken English, but he easily made up for it in physical strength and skill, a trait which was prized for keeping unwanted guests out of the science wing. Wilson needed to get back to the lab, back to Webber. Wilson could use Wolfgang's strength along the way, but, he couldn't force him to come.

"You don't have to come with me, but I need to go. There's something important there I need." Woodie waved his arm dismissively.

"Fine! But no guarantee you'll live." Woodie turned and cocked his pistol. "Let's go Wolfgang." It took a moment for Woodie to realise Wolfgang wasn't following. "Wolfgang?"

"Will give time to both comrades."

"What?" Wilson and Woodie simultaneously asked; surely he wasn't going to draw them to himself.

"Don't be absurd, you're one of the only people capable of fighting these things!"

"He's right, eh! Just go with the doc, I'll be alright on my own."

"Wolfgang will help both. You cannot change his mind. Go now." Woodie and Wilson glanced at each other, Wolfgang seemed to have made up his mind.

"Take care of yourself big guy."

"Yes, be vigilant."

"Do not worry. Wolfgang will take care of beasts." And with that the man left, leaving Woodie and Wilson to state at each other for a moment before heading off in their own directions.

xXxXx

Wilson and WX-78 made their way through the cargo hold, trying to keep vigilant as well as navigate. Heavy footsteps echoed from within a hallway and panic flooded Wilson's being. Dropping behind one of the cargo boxes, Wilson covered his mouth daring not to breathe. The shiny black exoskeleton of a xenomorph came around the corner; tall, muscular and an arsenal of weapons at its disposal. It scans the room, tilting its head, listening. Wilson worried his pounding heart would give away his position.

Something across the cargo bay causes a canister to topple over, the sound making Wilson jump and hit his head on the wall. Snarling the Xenomorph ran over to the source of the sound, screaming soon followed. Wilson could just imagine the creature tearing into his own flesh.

"WILSON." The andorid's tone was hushed but urgent, Wilson tore his attention away from his horrific day-dream. WX-78 was pointing to the structure Wilson had just hit his head on, an air duct. Wilson dare not say it was hope that fluttered through his mind, for fear of it being crushed but it's what he really did feel. The air duct could be used as an escape route, to stay out of the main rooms. Sure he may have to take a detour but at least he could hide himself. Wilson pressed the button to open the vent and shuffled inside, the space was cramped, he couldn't decide if he would prefer this or being out in the open.

With WX-76's help Wilson managed to get to the infirmary, not exactly close to the labs but it was something. After only a few moments however the entire station shook, lights flickering overhead. Something had impacted the ship and whatever it was, was big enough to cause Wilson and several trays fall onto the floor. "TOO BAD YOU DON'T CONTAIN GYROSCOPES."

"Your commentary isn't needed WX. We have more pressing matters than me lacking a gyroscope. Whatever that was can't be good news." Getting to his feet Wilson took hold of the medical beds to keep himself stable in case of another shockwave. Had something hit the ship? Did something on board explode? Wilson could only hope none of the life support systems were compromised.

It wasn't long before another shockwave shook the ship, although a minor one in comparison to the first, this one felt closer than the last however and lasted longer. Surely the Xenomorphs would know where these impacts were occurring and would be swarming the area. Maybe he should find a place to hide, let it blow over. No, he had to get to the labs, as fast as possible.

"MY SUPERIOR SENCES DETECT VOICES AHEAD."

"People? No they'll draw them to us, we need to find a way to avoid them." Glancing around Wilson opened a storage locker and pressed his lanky limbs up against his chest to fit inside. It was crude and he didn't want to resort to hiding but he just needed them to pass. "WX-78 watch and listen. Once they're out of range let me know. Try to look shut down." After staring at Wilson WX looked to the hallway and sat down like a ragdoll, its gaze towards the hallway.

Soon a team of 4 came into view, obscured greatly by the bars of the locker however. They wore black and khaki, red trimmings could only just be seen under the dim light. Wilson held his breath, these mustn't be crew members. It was impossible Woodie to have gotten an SOS signal out at all, nevertheless a rescue team arrive in this space of time. Whoever they were they were armed; probably thieves, pirates, scavengers of the cosmos, going from one wreck to another like parasites in order to avoid real labour and make money off of others misfortunes'.

"Holy crap look at the age on that!" One of the figures neared WX, squatting out of Wilson's view. "Someone loves you don't they? I didn't think there were any of you left! Still in great condition." The figure dropped down, squatting out of Wilson's view.

"We can't take the whole thing, maybe on the way back but we might miss it. Take what you want now or gamble it."

"Let me see if there's anything worth taking." Wilson tried his best to see what was going on without giving his position away but it was no good, he couldn't see anything really. The group moved suddenly, crying out in surprise. Had the Xenomorphs found them?!

"DO NOT TOUCH ME FLESHLING. I REFUSE TO ALLOW MYSELF TO BE PRODED AND POKED. THIS WAS NOT PART OF THE PLAN." Ah. Of course. It was nothing, WX had just moved. Thank Darwin.

"Oh. My. God. It's powered! It's got an AI?!" The sound of a gun cocking filled the air.

"Winona calm down. What plan rust bucket?" Silence. Wilson was probably one of the only humans WX tolerated and he was lucky to have his loyalty on top of that. "Wigfrid check the area."

"Aye, aye." Well crap. Wilson closed his eyes and not long after light painted a red on the inside of his eyelids. Something cold was pressed on his forehead. "We got an audience captain." Wilson opened one eye at a time, the barrel of some kind of shot gun was uncomfortably close to his brain.

"I-I-I'm unarmed."

"You a scientist? You look like one with that stereotype of a lab coat."

"Yes. I am."

"What's going on. This ship seems functional. What are you sending a distress call out for?" Woodie did get a signal out! There could be rescue coming!

"There's uh… been… a biohazard issue." A moment of silence filled the air as the infiltrators looked at each other.

"Our engineer said the air's not contaminated with any pathogen. What kind of biohazard are we talking about?"

"Hostile macrofauna." The woman Wilson could only assume as their leader put a hand on her hip and studied Wilson's face intently.

"Alright ladies lets pack up and head out. Where's the closest most valuable cargo?"

"W-what?" They has no idea what they were up against, they were going to be slaughtered.

"We're not leaving empty handed. No angry alien's gonna stop us from at least breaking even. So where can we get something we can sell for like 200 credits?" Wilson couldn't believe it. They had a working ship, a chance to leave with their lives and they were going to stay to make enough for fill up the tank of whatever hunk of junk they were flying?! How absurd! How stupid! Thinking they could take on a xenomorph let alone a dozen. Then it struck him. A small armed team had just become available to him and they were blissfully unaware of the damage these creatures could do. "Oi I'm talkin' to you. Spill it before we spill your brains."

"I-I can pay you 200 credits for getting me off this ship." Wilson brought his hand up and pushed the barrel away from his forehead. "I need something from my laboratory though. I'll pay you 50,000 credits. I'm head of the science department here, I can transfer the funds."

"Bullshit."

"N-no! Check my ID! Ask WX-78!"

"WILSON CONTROLS ALL FUNDS IN THE SCIENCE WING." The pirate's face softened. They had a soft spot for money.

"Alright. 200 credits each and 50,000 for escorting you to your lab to get your thing. Deal?"

"200 each?!"

"If it's not worth the credits then we'll be going now."

"No! Okay. Fine. Whatever. I agree. Just. Promise you'll take me off this ship." The woman stepped forward and spat in her hand, holding it towards Wilson afterwards.

"Deal?" Disgusting. Wilson screwed up his face and shuddered. Spitting in his own hand he shook hers. Unsanitary.

"Deal." Wilson wiped his had furiously on his lab coat. "The labs are this way. Just try to not draw attention to us."

"Wendy, Wigfrid take back and keep these two in line, Winona you're up front with me.

"Aye Aye captain." A large woman who had previously pressed the gun against Wilson's forehead pushed him and WX-78 forward. Lousy way to treat the gentleman who was willing to pay you, he should be treated as a customer not a prisoner.


End file.
